~ Chapter 95: The Dwarf Emperor (Part 1) ~

[Two years and three dragon months ago]

[Seryanna's point of view]

There were no other ships in this port except for ours. The piers were flooded with curious onlookers and the Princess was currently talking with one of the dwarf representatives. Wary of the rule mentioned centuries ago, none of us stepped on the wooden platform so as to not upset them.

While the negotiations for our permission to come ashore were being discussed, I waited by the rail and watched the far off lands of the Dwarf Continent. The snow made it hard for me to see too far inland, but from what I could tell, the nearby area was a plain mostly used for animal husbandry and probably the cultivation of special vegetables that could grow in these harsh conditions.

The outside wall of this city was guarded by two towers and a sturdy metal gate. There were no aerial defenses, so us dragons would only have to worry about archers and long range mages. Thus, I concluded that its defenses were at best a simple means of delaying an enemy force or for the most part used against outside monsters.

The dwarfs of this city, rather than showing the confidence of turning us back, they looked unsure of whether or not they could stop us here if we wanted to disembark by force. Their children, however, showed a great deal of curiosity. They made big eyes at the ship and pointed towards us while asking their parents questions they probably had a hard time answering.

What I found interesting about them was how different they talked and acted when compared to George, the dwarf near Toros. He was energetic, happy, always showing his guests a smile and wearing clothes similar to us dragons. These dwarfs here, however, were quite gloomy and frightened of us. Among them, there were even gazes of hate, from those whom the Princess called xenophobes.

While I was looking over this city and the people living here, Kataryna was up on the mast, taking a nap, and my three knights were standing next to Princess Elleyzabelle, trying to look imposing and overwhelming in front of the dwarf representative's own guards. Tanarotte was gagged and bound with chains inside the ship. Actually, forget that last part, she was currently moving up on the mast like a lizard trying to reach Kataryna.

Ah... she spotted her. I thought when I saw the dragoness cast an ice ball at Tanarotte's face.

“BUGAH!” with a strange sound she fell on the deck.

One of the sailors who was scrubbing the decks pushed her away with his broom.

Why does she keep going after Kataryna like that? I wondered as after all this time, I still couldn't understand what went through the mind of that dragoness when she pulled predictable stunts like this.

Half an hour later, I saw the representative of the dwarfs making a bow to Princess Elleyzabelle and then getting off the ship.

I walked up to her Highness and asked “What was his impression of us?”

“It seems there are a lot of things we don't know about the Dwarf Continent, which is also known as Trindania.” she replied and then let out a sigh.

“Were the logs incorrect?” I asked.

“No, they were correct, it's just that they weren't updated. Two months ago, the rebels succeeded with the help of Human Heroes to overthrow the former King and now a new Emperor was placed on the throne. That dwarf is the previous Rebellion Leader, Nomv'Azer, now Mush'Nomv'Azer.”

I furrowed my brow as I didn't understand their naming sense.

Catching onto my confusion, the Princess said “Mush is the unique tribe name given to the Royal Family, Nomv is his given name, and Azer is his family name.”

Are the dwarfs on the continent named differently from those outside? I wondered.

“You don't seem to be surprised of hearing that there are Human Heroes on this continent?” Princess Elleyzabelle asked raising an eyebrow.

“There's no need to be, your Highness. Alkelios told me that 10 million of his kind were sent to our world. That's more than enough to fill an entire nation. Having a bunch scattered on the Dwarf Continent seems highly likely considering their resemblance. I found it a bit odd that there weren't that many Human Heroes in that part of the Relliar Continent, but I have the feeling that we simply haven't heard of them yet.”

“True, not all of them have powerful abilities like Alkelios does. Some of them might be more suited for simple jobs rather than the harsh conditions of the battlefield. Besides, your husband is a bit of a cheat if you ask me. He can do a lot of things.” Princess Elleyzabelle showed me a soft smile.

“Except withstand my charm!” I declared proudly.

“True.” she giggled.

The following day, we were greeted early in the morning by the representative of the dwarfs in Port Nefer.

“Your Highness, Princess Elleyzabelle, I came bringing good news!” he said with a bright smile.

The dwarf, who went by the name of Kita'Milla'Nei, wasn't a fat dwarf as one would expect from someone with the rank akin to a noble. He was actually slim and well built with rough calluses on his hands, showing that he was a dwarf who didn't fear hard work. He was wearing a necklace with a small canine tooth attached to it, and a robe made out of furs from several different monsters or animals. His head was covered by a big fur hat and on his wrists he wore several wood and metal rings. The guards who were following him, on the other hand, wore plate armors and wielded big spears.

“Is this about our discussion the other day?” Princess Elleyzabelle asked.

“Yes, indeed!” he nodded. “I managed to calm down the unease of the dwarfs who were against you setting a foot on the docks. They saw you and your company as enemies who came here to take their land. Foolish simple dwarfs in their beliefs, but they are seen with great respect by their fellows, especially the unnamed ones.”

“I take it that it had something to do with the new laws given out by the new Emperor?” she asked in a calm tone of voice.

“Indeed. Although it hasn't been that long since his Majesty took the throne, he already began to put into motion the many changes he had promised his fellow dwarfs during his rebellion. Among them was the promise to open our borders to curious new visitors. But, as you may have guessed, not everyone is at ease with these new changes. It's only been two months, some dwarfs are bound to feel a bit confused by all of this.” he let out a sigh and shook his head.

“These are indeed good news. We can proceed with requesting an audience from his Majesty. Will you be kind enough to help us send it to him?”

“I will do even better, your Highness! I will take you to him or my name isn't Kita'Milla'Nei!” he laughed.

“That's quite unexpected and wonderful.” she nodded.

“Whenever you are ready, your Highness, my carriage awaits. I brought one for your servants and another for any luggage you may possess.” he made a small bow.

“A luggage carriage will be unnecessary thanks to our [Purse] rings. My two trusted Knights will travel together with me in the same carriage, and the other one can be used for my four other guards.”

“[Purse] rings? Ah, of course! Then I shall go and tell the coachman that we won't be needing his services for now.” the dwarf nodded.

We followed Kita'Milla'Nei to the carriage and boarded it together with her Highness. Meanwhile the other carriage was going to be used by Tanarotte, Amarondi Shellar, Quran Van, and Attrakus. The dwarf was quite surprised that we didn't take any butlers or maids with us, especially given the presence of someone with royal blood among us, but Princess Elleyzabelle simply brushed it off by saying she didn't feel the need for them.

Our first destination from Port Nefer was going to be a small village to the West, where only unnamed villagers lived. Then, we would continue to pass through many other small villages until we reached Osza Town. There, we would spend the night and prepare to travel to Tesva City. From Tesva City until Exaver, the Capital City, were only two days of travel by carriage.

The weather wasn't really on our side, but the beasts used to pull our carriages were more than used to it. Unlike the Khosinni of the dragons or the horses of the humans, the dwarfs used big goat monsters they called Hanba.

For the most part there was silence within the carriage, only the strong cold winds beating on the windows could be heard. We weren't feeling cold despite the clothes we wore, and we had more than enough patience as members of the high society in Albeyater.

After we passed the first village, we stopped to have something to eat. The dwarf's escorts also included two butlers and two maids who were indistinguishable from the other guards. The idea was that a good servant should be able to do more than just bring tea and cookies from the kitchen.

Inspired by this idea, I decided to have a small training session with the Knights. They looked so happy when I told them about it, Amarondi even burst into tears. Thinking that they must want to stretch their bodies a bit more, I ordered them to run after our carriage rather than travel in the one prepared for them. Tanarotte was ordered to join them as well. It was so good to see their happy smiles when I proposed this sort of training regime.

While traveling in the carriage with Kita'Milla'Nei, I noticed that he himself wasn't wearing a [Purse] ring. Out of curiosity, I asked him if they lacked enchanters who were able to make them.

“No, Madame Seryanna, it's not that we don't have the skill, but rather that this sort of enchantment was banned to the masses by the ruler from several generations ago. He thought that such a luxury was too much for those of common blood.” he explained.

“Too much?” I asked furrowing my brow.

“Yes. When I was young, I was thought by my teacher, a wretched woman who got eaten by a shark and then caused the poor thing indigestion, that those belonging to the Big Twenty-Five Tribes were different from those with one name, or as we call them unnamed ones, from the blood in their veins to the hairs on their scalp.” he explained.

“It's the same belief that humans have. They think that nobles are of blue blood and commoners have dirt coursing through their veins.” explained Kataryna as she crossed her arms at her chest and leaned back.

“A foolish belief.” Princess Elleyzabelle remarked.

“Foolish or not, up until two months ago, it was the law under which we all lived.” Kita'Milla'Nei said as he showed us a wry smile.

“You mentioned before these Big Twenty-Five Tribes. Are they like the nobles in our lands?” I asked.

“Yes, for the most part. The Ulma tribe was exterminated during the rebellion and replaced by the Kark tribe. The Kill tribe exterminated the Musk tribe, the Karr tribe hunted down every single member of the Besh tribe, who at that time were among the worst dwarfs possible. The Kess tribe forced the Vazu tribe to step down, and Mazg fought to the death as the former ruler's bodyguards. Their place was taken by the Mada tribe.”

Note from the author: Thank you for reading this chapter, I hope you enjoyed it! Oh, and be sure to check out my other stories too!

This is the first chapter after my break! 😀

Well, this is it! The new Volume of the 100 Luck series! This one will be entitled: Do Dragons go on Adventures?

I hope you will enjoy it and aren't too upset with the delay. This is a very troublesome volume, as I had stated before, and there's a chance I'll be posting slower because of this. I don't want to make a mess of the timeline and plotline. 🙂

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